Philosophyhttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/1875
Mon, 19 Mar 2018 12:48:02 GMT2018-03-19T12:48:02ZAristotle’s harmony with Plato on separable and immortal soulhttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/63884
Aristotle’s harmony with Plato on separable and immortal soul
Coombs, W.M. (Wehan Murray)
The possibility of a harmony between the psychological doctrine of Aristotle and that of Plato marks a significant issue within the context of the debate surrounding Aristotle’s putative opposition to or harmony with Plato’s philosophy. The standard interpretation of Aristotle’s conception of the soul being purely hylomorphic leaves no room for harmonisation with Plato, nor does a functionalist interpretation that reduces Aristotle’s psychological doctrine to physicalist terms. However, these interpretations have serious drawbacks, both in terms of ad-hoc explanations formulated in the developmentalist mode, and the misconstruing of some of the fundamental features of Aristotle’s psychological doctrine. A dualist interpretation that accepts Aristotle’s doctrine of some part of the soul being properly incorporeal, separable and immortal overcomes these drawbacks and, significantly, opens the door for Platonic harmonisation. Furthermore, it can be shown that the kind of immortality in question is also in line with the Platonic stance, due to a deep similarity between the conceptions of metaphysical and moral personhood held by Plato and his student. However, this Aristotelian dualism is not Platonic dualism simpliciter. Rather, it is best understood in terms of the division of labour between Aristotle and Plato suggested by the Neoplatonic commentators generally, and Simplicius in particular. I argue that though questions surrounding these issues and particularly the issue of reincarnation remain, an account of Aristotle’s psychological doctrine as dualist and in harmony with Plato’s view of the soul can be shown to be stronger than both standard hylomorphic and functionalist accounts, both exegetically and philosophically.
Wed, 01 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/638842017-11-01T00:00:00ZProviding criticism without causing pain : lessons from the book of Proverbshttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/62822
Providing criticism without causing pain : lessons from the book of Proverbs
Kessler, Volker
The book of Proverbs is drawn from life. It describes “real life”. It is part of the Old Testament (OT) wisdom literature and according to Stendebach (2003:239), forms a “theology of practical reason”. The US professor of management, Michael A Zigarelli (1999:15), regards Proverbs to be the most practical book in the Bible, which inspired him to write a management book called “Management by Proverbs”. Proverbs, with its concentrated human experience and reflections, wants to help people cope in the world, live a fulfilled life and avoid danger (Albertz 1992:471). Because communication is such an important part of life, many proverbs deal with this topic. Bühlmann (1976) aptly titles his studies about Proverbs 10-31 “To talk and remain silent rightfully” (“Vom rechten Reden und Schweigen”). The following article concentrates on the aspects of criticism as a special kind of communication. Based on Proverbs, practical advice is provided about giving as well as accepting criticism. In this way, the parallels between the wisdom of the OT Proverbs and modern communication psychology will become clear. Regarding the exegesis and the theology of proverbs, I consulted the following works by the Old Testament theologians Bühlmann (1976), Murphy (1996, 1998), Plöger (2003), Stendebach (2003), von Rad (1992), Westermann (1996) and Zimmerli (1999). Concerning communication I learned greatly from Rosenberg (2003), Schulz von Thun (1997), and Weisbach and Sonne-Neubacher (2005).
This article is an aextract from my book (Keeler 2010), which has been published in Germany and Poland.
Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/628222011-01-01T00:00:00ZLaw-Life: Colonialism and the flows of the politicalhttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/62674
Law-Life: Colonialism and the flows of the political
In the Constitutional Court case of Mazibuko and Others v The City of Johannesburg and Others CCT 39/09 [2009], a case dealing with the question of access to water, the presiding judge, Kate O'Regan CJ, makes the following opening remarks to the judgment: 'Water is life. Without it, nothing organic grows. Human beings need water to drink, to cook, to wash and to grow our food. Without it, we will die. It is not surprising then that our Constitution entrenches the right of access to water'. My aim in this dissertation is to investigate the couplet of law-life and the political in the Constitutional Court case of Mazibuko and Others v The City of Johannesburg and Others. The case stands as an exemplar of the intersection of life and the political by virtue of its focus on socio-economic rights, specifically the right of access to water enshrined in the Constitution. The history of the case, the jurisprudence employed by the courts, and the responses and critiques to the Mazibuko case add to the problematics to be investigated here. What would it entail if the couplet of law-life would be brought to the concept of the political? It would mean interrogating how life and law is constructed by the political and not merely how the political manages and regulates life through law. If life is considered to be a matter of bare necessities, or mere biological life, there would not be a need to consider the question of the political relation to life; it could be delegated, as it has practically been, to technocratic governmental policy. Bringing the political to questions of life would reveal how the political implicates life in its constituting moment. In this dissertation, I will explore how the political could be brought to the couplet of law-life, focusing particularly focus on socio-economic rights, international law, colonialism, and constitution making.
Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2017.
Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/626742017-01-01T00:00:00ZA critical analysis of distributive justice in Zimbabwean land redistribution : making use of capability approach and entitlement theory to formulate a land-based compromisehttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/62651
A critical analysis of distributive justice in Zimbabwean land redistribution : making use of capability approach and entitlement theory to formulate a land-based compromise
The focus of this research is to explore and propose philosophical ideas for a just resolution to the Zimbabwean land redistribution debacle. The work will evaluate land redistribution and expropriations in terms of redistributive arguments such as the resources and entitlements' arguments, and social justice perspectives. By evaluating these different conceptions of justice the research attempts to respond to the complex demands of addressing the Zimbabwean land redistribution. Human life is made up of different facets that include social, political, and economic aspects: these have to work together in order to enhance human beings' well-being. Land redistribution should be multifaceted, thereby increasing holistic human justice, rather than focusing on one aspect of justice. The study endeavours to establish that the land redistribution policy should be one of the instruments through which various forms of social injustices and inequalities emanating from social, economic, and political biases can be eliminated. In this regard, this research intends to propose a Land-Based Compromise (L.B.C) as a way of addressing anomalies emanating from land redistribution. The L.B.C is to be perceived as a platform where both reconciliation and just rectification can be achieved. Reconciliation is necessary for promoting good social relations and cooperation, while rectification of past injustices helps in establishing equality by encouraging better livelihoods of all. In this endeavour, the L.B.C will premise some of its arguments from Nozickian Entitlement Theory and the Capabilities Approach. Also in addressing social ills, the L.B.C imports ideas from traditional African thought systems and practices of addressing past injustices through social therapy in order to repair relations and restore justice. This ‗social therapy' encourages informed participatory and inclusive efforts in the communal rebuilding process. In the end the research asserts that justice is a social process built around relations that allow people to live lives they can value.
Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2017.
Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMThttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/626512017-01-01T00:00:00Z